Hi Guys! Thanks for the warm welcome!
Sean & Andy - thanks!
Jeff - yeah, man...beautiful 4005WB!! Are you the one who has two WBs and two "regular" 4005s? Or is that you, Chris? I've made the pic of the 4 of them lined up into my wallpaper, tiled, of course!
Steve - yeah, I was able to snag those three 4005s all within a 6-week period...everything just came together perfectly! I picked up the S8 about a month prior to the 4005s, and it is a very cool bass...truly a unique sound....almost orchestral in its color.
Chris - yeah, man, I do indeed know the power, beauty, and elegance of Rickenbacker's finest model bass!! Beautiful axes you have there, too, my friend!!
Bob - my latest fretless came with roundwound strings on it, not tapewounds. I emailed Kenny and asked him if RIC still made the tapewounds, and he replied that they'd stopped making them....bummer, indeed!
Does anybody here know of good medium guage tapewounds? I really like those on the fretless...they make it sound really close to an upright, for straight ahead jazz playing.
The dots on the side and on the fingerboard are now only in the center of the frets, unlike the way they used to be on the actual tone, and they're only indicated on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc, unlike the way they used to be, for every fret all the way down the neck, along the side. As far as the woods used, it's still a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard...I don't know if the lacquer is different than on fretted models or not, but I noticed that the roundwound strings started "marking it up"...another reason I want to switch to tapewounds! (I still have the ORIGINAL tapewounds on my 1989 fretless, which I bought in 1995....can you say DEAD STRINGS?!!)
For my 4001/4003s, I use RotoSound Swing Bass RN 66LD strings, .045 to 105. - that awesome sound!! For my 4005s, I use Thomastik-Infeld JR344 Jazz Bass strings, .043 to .089. They're really light guage, very low tension, roundwound, and they sound amazing!! About $10 more expensive than the Rotes, but worth it for the 4005s...truly MY BABIES!! I get them through
www.juststrings.com. (Neither Guitar Center nor Sam Ash on Sunset Blvd. has the T-I JR344 set...kinda weird, ya know?!)
Jeff - I've never known of a 5-string 4005? I know of the 4005 8 and 6 bangers, but never a 5...
Correction to above - yes, an invoice indicates they made a 4005/5 in 1972: from "The Complete History of Rickenbacker Guitars", by Richard Smith, page 207....ya made me look it up Jeff, hahaha!
I have never even seen a pic of one of those, though....that book doesn't even have a pic of one!
I know you all know about the 4005/6 in Bethesda, MD for a cool $10,600....just a LITTLE over the top of my budget, but I'd love to have it....it looks gorgeous....*pant pant*! I am headed to Baltimore next weekend for 10 days, though...may have to make a drive to Bethesda!
And now something to make us all weep - prices from the "Rickenbacker Technical Data and Price List, Effective June 20, 1968" -
BASS-ELECTRIC
4000--Four string, Solid Body, Mapleglo or Fireglo Finish: $375.50
4001--Four string, Solid Body, Two Pickups, White Binding, Mapleglo or Fireglo Finish: $429.50
4005--Four string, Hollow Body, Two Pickups, Mapleglo or Fireglo Finish: $510.00
4005.6--Six string, Hollow Body, Two Pickups, Mapleglo or Fireglo Finish: $544.00
*One instrument cord and shoulder strap are included.
So, even back then, considering the valuation of US Currency at the time, Rics were EXPENSIVE! And worth every penny!! But ohhhh, to be able to find those vintage instruments at that price....one can only dream....truly!
That's all for the moment, and I'll see you all a bit later!
Jim
